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“Not long now,” I say once we leave the market district.
The sooner I reunite her with her father, the sooner I can confront Zathex. Turning a corner, I look up ahead, spotting a xaphan military convoy.
“Get down!” I exclaim, throwing myself and Hanna into a nearby bush
“What’s going on?” she says with a gasp.
“Be quiet!”
My shadow powers throw a dark shade over our form, blending us in with the nearby shrubbery as the convoy passes.
My powers beg to be let loose on them. It feels like my own personal torment to keep them restrained. It would bring me so much satisfaction to tear those xaphans apart, limb from limb
I gesture for Hanna to stay quiet, waiting until we’re out of the xaphans’ line of sight. I retract my powers and rise to my feet, pulling Hanna up with me.
“See that?” I ask. “We’d look too suspicious to them.”
“I don’t like that they were coming from the human settlements,” Hanna whispers, her voice unsteady and worried.
“We’d better hurry.”
We continue our journey. Soon, Hanna stops speaking altogether, and the only sound I can hear is her quickening breathing as we spot the human settlements up ahead.
She starts jogging. Running alongside her, we enter the settlement, eyes darting around for any further signs of xaphan activity.
“The coast is clear. You lead the way from here,” I say.
“This way. It’s just around the corner.”
She gestures when her home comes into view, indicating a small structure with a doorway I must stoop to enter through.
Half-cut vegetables are scattered across the counter. Set on the table are places for two.
“Must have been expecting you back… Hanna?”
Hanna’s wild gaze darts around in search of her father. She moves into another room, repeatedly calling for her father, each time growing more frantic and worried.
“Dad? Where are you?”
I peer closer at the half-prepared meal, noticing the wilted state of the vegetables. They’ve been left here to rot for some time. That’s when I realize what’s going on.
I’m half-tempted to tell Hanna that he might just be outside, running errands. I can’t bring myself to lie, but I also hesitate to tell her the reality, knowing it’ll break her heart.
“I’m sorry I ran away,” her voice echoes between each room. “I can explain it all, please! Dad, where are you?”
I think she already knows as she rejoins me, dropping to her knees.
“He’s not here,” she whispers, a tear cascading down her cheek.
I kneel to her level, dashing the tear away before it can fall to the floor.
“Hanna,” I say. “Try to keep yourself together.”
Her head rears up, her reddened, tearful eyes now aiming anger at me.
“How can I keep myself together when he’s not here?” she hisses. “We don’t know how long he’s been gone!”
Her face falls into her open palms, her body twitching with each howl of pain. I lay a hand on her back.
